To Scientists' Surprise, Even Nonvenomous Snakes Can Strike at Ridiculous Speeds

Smithsonian ^ | 15 Mar, 2016 | Marcus Woo

[Mogger]

Habu.

[no-s]

Smokey with a smaller rattler.

We once had a mother cat that would bring us snacks, eg birds, lizards, rats, etc. She would walk right up to us or jump in our laps with the prize and make "mothering" noises. As far as ol' Fluffy (an improbable name for a shorthair) could tell we were all "slow" kittens who needed to learn to hunt, so she would often bring barely alive critters who might need a little more killing to be completely dead.

One evening my mom (the actual human mother) went to leave by the front door and stopped dead in her tracks with an incredible shriek. It seemed the cat had brought us a feast of rattlesnakes, laid 'em out by the front door for our feasting pleasure. We had developed a rattlesnake den under the slab, practically a cave. Fluffy had found the exit hole and picked 'em off as they slithered to and fro. Dozens, average about a 16 inches but a few 2-footers, just laid out nice and neat and ready to eat, all with broken necks but some still wriggling the way dead snakes will sometimes if you don't kill them completely.

Fluffy was so proud of me, I got the shovel and separated every snake head from every snake body. And yes, rattlesnake does taste remarkably like some kind of gamey chicken.